# Rae Burrell

Rae Burrell (born June 21, 2000) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She played college basketball for the Tennessee Volunteers after attending Liberty High School in Henderson, Nevada, where she was named the Las Vegas Review-Journal Best of Nevada Preps Female Athlete of the Year in 2018.

## College career

Burrell was ranked the 43rd overall recruit by ESPN's HoopGurlz and committed to play for the Tennessee Volunteers. In her freshman season, she played in every game - averaging 12.7 minutes. She scored a season high of 14 points, twice, against Presbyterian and Florida A&M.
During her sophomore campaign, Burrell became the team's top reserve. She finished the year averaging 10.5 points and 5.5 rebounds. She also recorded the first double-double of her career against Mississippi State with 20 points, 10 rebounds, three steals, and one block.
As a junior, Burrell averaged 16.8 points and 4.6 rebounds per game. She also was the only Volunteer to start all the games. She played well in the NCAA Tournament, scoring 22 points against Middle Tennessee in their opening game.
Before her senior season, Burrell was ranked the 24th best women's college basketball player entering the 2021–2022 season. In an early game against Southern Illinois, she went down with a knee injury that caused her to miss several weeks. After returning from injury, Burrell played in 22 games, averaging 12.3 points and 3.9 rebounds. She turned up her play late in the year after fellow guard Jordan Horston went down with an injury. She led the Volunteers back to the Sweet Sixteen - before falling to the Louisville Cardinals. She scored 22 points to end her Tennessee career.
On March 29, Burrell announced on Instagram that she would not be using her extra year of eligibility (due to the COVID-19 pandemic) and would be declaring for the 2022 WNBA draft.

## Professional career
### WNBA
#### Los Angeles Sparks (2022–present)

Burrell was selected 9th overall in the 2022 WNBA draft by the Los Angeles Sparks. She missed all but three games of her rookie season due to a foot injury.
Burrell did not make the Sparks roster following the 2023 training camp, but was signed to a hardship contract in May. Burrell was released from the hardship after 2 days. Burrell returned for a second hardship contract on June 17, 2023. She eventually stayed with the team for the rest of the season and played in 29 games, averaging 11.1 minutes per game.
On February 1, 2024, Burrell signed a multi-year contract with the Sparks. She played sporadically at the beginning of the season, but gradually carved out more and more playing time. She ended up playing in 37 games, starting the last 7 games of the season, averaging 15.6 minutes per game.

### Overseas

Burrell played with the UC Capitals in the 2022–23 WNBL season.
She joined the Belgian side Kangoeroes Basket Mechelen for winter 2023.

### Athletes Unlimited

Burrell played in the 2024 edition of Athletes Unlimited Pro Basketball.

### Unrivaled

On November 18, 2024, it was announced that Burrell would appear and play in the inaugural 2025 season of Unrivaled, the women’s 3-on-3 basketball league founded by Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart.

## Career statistics
### WNBA
#### Regular season

Stats current through end of 2024 season
WNBA regular season statistics :
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
| 2022 | Los Angeles | 3 | 1 | 14.7 | .111 | .167 | 1.000 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 0.7 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 1.7 |
| 2023 | Los Angeles | 29 | 3 | 11.1 | .387 | .390 | .810 | 1.2 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0.5 | 3.6 |
| 2024 | Los Angeles | 37 | 7 | 15.6 | .362 | .333 | .780 | 1.8 | 1.1 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 1.0 | 5.9 |
| Career | 3 years, 1 team | 69 | 11 | 13.7 | .362 | .345 | .789 | 1.6 | 0.9 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 0.8 | 4.8 |

### College

NCAA statistics :
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
| 2018–19 | Tennessee | 32 | 0 | 12.6 | .317 | .219 | .568 | 2.8 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.9 | 3.6 |
| 2019–20 | Tennessee | 31 | 9 | 22.6 | .410 | .328 | .600 | 5.5 | 1.4 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 2.4 | 10.5 |
| 2020–21 | Tennessee | 25 | 25 | 32.0 | .458 | .402 | .825 | 4.6 | 1.8 | 1.0 | 0.4 | 2.8 | 16.8 |
| 2021–22 | Tennessee | 22 | 13 | 26.5 | .364 | .325 | .794 | 3.9 | 1.6 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 2.0 | 12.3 |
| Career | 110 | 47 | 22.6 | .402 | .341 | .703 | 4.2 | 1.3 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 2.0 | 10.3 |